Asian American & Pacific Islander History

From disease cures to influential tech to workers' rights, Asian American innovators have made huge impacts on people's lives.

More than 100,000 Japanese Americans were sent to 'War Relocation Centers' between 1942 and 1946.

Frank Wada and Don Seki fought in the 442nd all-Nisei Regiment—remembered as the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of the US military.

The 1875 Page Act was one of the earliest pieces of federal legislation to restrict immigration to the United States.

Maya Lin won a design competition—and sparked a national controversy.

Mabel Ping-Hua Lee fought for the rights of women on two sides of the world.

Itliong may not be as well-known a name as Chavez, but his role among Filipino-American workers was as critical in the 1965-70 Delano grape strike—if not more.

Mamie Tape's bid to desegregate San Francisco schools went to the California Supreme Court seven decades before Brown v. Board.

The Nisei soldiers of the 442nd became the most highly decorated regiment in U.S. military history for its size and length of service.

In 1898, an American-born son of Chinese immigrants took on the U.S. government to affirm the principle of birthright citizenship via the 14th Amendment.

The 1882 trial of laborer Yee Shun set a new legal precedent in America.

As Honolulu and San Francisco faced outbreaks, the cities’ responses caused devastation to Asian communities.

When Korean American Chol Soo Lee was accused of murder in 1974, authorities misidentified him as Chinese American, and his case was marred by bias.

It was a long road from the end of the war until President Reagan signed the 1988 Civil Liberties Act.

The U.S. government, for its part, tried to assure the rest of the country that its policy was justified, and that those Japanese Americans forced to live in the prison camps were happy.

A Hawaiian princess helped revive the ancient sport of surfing long before Gidget and Moondoggie hit the beach.

More than a third of the island's residents were of Japanese descent, and military officials doubted their loyalty.

The fishing village in marshlands of present-day Louisiana was settled by the so-called Manilamen as early as 1763.

At first railroad companies were reluctant to hire Chinese workers, but the immigrants soon proved to be vital.

Nisei members of the Military Intelligence Service were discriminated against by their own country—even as they worked to protect it.

They worked as pilots, translators, guerrilla fighters and more.

General Douglas MacArthur led a seven-year occupation that demilitarized, democratized and helped rebuild the Pacific nation.

Tens of thousands of Filipinos answered the call to fight in World War II when the Philippines was an American commonwealth.

Wong Tsu’s 10 months at Boeing in 1916-17 led to the fledgling airplane manufacturer's first military plane, first airmail plane and eventually, its first passenger plane.

Hawaii became part of the union more than six decades after an illegal coup ousted the Native Hawaiian monarchy.

The Polynesians were expert sailors—and research suggests they landed in the Americas centuries before Columbus.